School required to warn of kindergartener's possible retention

Q. I need help for my son in kindergarten. He just got a report listing him as Far Below Grade Level. Can they really say to hold him back already (it is on his form)? It is only the second month of school!

A. First, some of the forms we are required to show parents can be alarming, but Ed Code requires some of these notifications. If your son's kindergarten teacher is alerting you to the fact that he is Far Below Grade Level, then you should be concerned and ready to make a plan to help him in school.

Your son may be young, even if his age is within the allowed range. Some children take longer to mature and are not ready to begin an academic year at the same time as others. If he lacks maturity and self-control, these are things you need to give him time to acquire.

We are required to tell parents when we are concerned with a child's progress and different districts use different terms. If you were also told that he may be a candidate for retention, this is only because of the notification requirements. We must tell parents if we think this is even the slightest possibility as soon as we think it may be true. If your child's teacher is telling you this now, it does not mean it is set in stone. Work with the teacher to help your child and see where he gets by the next report card. Kindergarten is a big year with a lot of growth occurring for most children. There is time, but there is already a concern so the time is now to jump in there and help.

Q. In spite of the potential cutbacks to public schools should Prop 30 fail that you outlined in your previous column, I am still going to vote "NO" on Prop 30 on Nov. 6. Although groceries are exempt from sales tax, all of the other necessities of life (shoes, clothes, hygiene and cleaning products, etc.) are not. So many are already pinching their pennies and to add to their burden is grossly unfair. If I could have a direct say in how my specific tax dollars that are used to fund education are spent, I would be somewhat more likely to absorb the increase.

However, as long as the taxes I pay go toward providing an education in any language other than English, as long as they go towards educating children whose parents are not in this country legally, as long as they go toward inflated district-level administrative salaries, then I will fight to prevent any tax increase. I'm sure you will be receiving a great deal of e-mail on your last column. I would be interested to read how the opinions of your readers fall (in favor or against Prop 30).

A. I always give a voice to other opinions, and there were many readers who agreed with your position for one reason or another. Three years ago, I took a 10 percent salary cut, so when I hear that others are worried about raising 1 percentage point for higher income brackets or a quarter of one percent increase in sales tax for four years, I find it telling.

Yes, I know mentioning this will get people back up in arms saying I only want to protect my salary. For many people, cuts to teachers' salaries are just fine, even preferred. They use the word "union" to feel at ease with attacking us personally and professionally. Right now, the negative energy spent toward teachers makes it easier for people to have us shoulder more of the cuts that come in times like these.

The cuts go beyond our salaries, however, and even taking as many as 15 more days off students' calendars. The class sizes will probably also go up again, forcing more kids in the room together, supplies will dwindle further, programs will be cut, services stop, arts will fade, sports will go back on the chopping blocks, and we will continue to use the old texts and materials we've had for far too long.

College students and their parents know how real the cuts have been and will continue to be. I still hope Proposition 30 passes, although I understand there are plenty of people who agree with your point of view. We all have a right to speak up soon in the upcoming elections, and I hope we all exercise that right, no matter the outcome. We will move forward with the budget the way all of California decides. It is in the hands of voters now, and I can go back to talking about reading, writing and helping kids.